Much noise about nothing. Last year Prius had hot new models that people were buying up. Now, a year later, it has calmed down a little. For Ford, it is the opposite situation. Ford now had new models that are selling well, I expect that will calm down in a year and the Prius will be ...
In the case of Spain, I've seen a lot of concerns in specialized forums regarding the impossibility of owning the battery. Others have also expressed concerns about Renault's decision to make it necessary to buy a pricey special adapter in order to be able to charge at normal sockets....
That tallies with virtually every other previous survey, suggesting Americans as a whole drive little more than this per day--and confirms that even 100-mile electric vehicles comfortably cover the average driver's daily duties. Even so, drivers would still prefer a little more--a who...
By John Voelcker John Voelcker Senior Editor BIO John is Senior Editor for High Gear Media. In addition to news coverage and new car reviews, John creates and oversees all editorial for High Gear's... More LATEST ARTICLE 100,000th Plug-In Electric Car In U.S. Sold Today (More Or Less)...
Many analysts say the high price of Tesla stock is due to a "short squeeze," in which investors who felt the share price was too high sold Tesla shares they didn't own and now must buy the stock to cover their short positions.
The large Opportunity rover uses solar panels to gather sunlight through the thin Martian atmosphere, and batteries to store power for times when the sun isn't shining.Curiosity goes a step further by using nuclear power--its radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG) generates elect...
By Antony Ingram Antony Ingram Contributing Writer BIO Antony is an automotive obsessive: Whether it drives, sits there looking pretty or intrigues from afar, he'll talk and write about it. Automotive... More LATEST ARTICLE Gumball Supercar Rally Now Carbon Neutral, But Hardly Green I...
Wonder if the KERS vacuum fly wheel could be fitted to the front end of a Fiero using the GM X car steering, independent suspension, differential and constant velocity joints connected to the KERS storage unit. While the rear engine and transmission would remain independently operatin...
On a temporary basis natural gas in an improvment over diesel fuel. The positive side is that natural gas burns with way fewer emission and a lower CO2 footprint than diesel fuel. On the negative side issues like fracking, tar sand and shale oil come to mind. I like electric propulsio...
Whether the cost of extraction is too high is a moving target. The history of the Mountain Pass rare earth mine in California is a good example. Cost of extraction closed the mine until China restricted rare earth exports - we have now reopened it. It's good to know the lithium is the...
Good article, Antony and great work by Honda. I might disagree slightly on the comment about hatchbacks not selling in the U.S., however, as recent sales figures have shown. The Fiesta sells more in hatchback than sedan, for example, and the Focus is very close. I think hatchbacks are...
Mitsubishi caused a stir at last year's Pikes Peak hill climb with its electric i-MiEV Evolution race car, and the team is returning this year to challenge for overall honors.
The small overlap crash replicates crashes like those involving trees, telephone poles, and other obstacles that hit only a small portion of a vehicle's front end. According to a press release, "In a 2009 IIHS study of vehicles with good ratings for frontal crash protection, small ove...
This is clearly a Constitutional issue. Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution states CLEARLY (in part), "To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;". Now lets move on to the 10 Amendment, "The powers not delegated to the Uni...
We now have the Volt and Leaf, but our multicoat 85kW Model S, standard, equipped like the one Consumer Reports tested, arrives in the next 10 days to replace the Leaf. I agree that the Volt is an incredible overall package and the best engineering in any "hybrid" to date. When our Vo...
By John Voelcker John Voelcker Senior Editor BIO John is Senior Editor for High Gear Media. In addition to news coverage and new car reviews, John creates and oversees all editorial for High Gear's... More LATEST ARTICLE Tesla To Issue More Stock, Pay Off Energy Dept With Proceeds Sin...
By Alex Davies, Business Insider Alex Davies, Business Insider Contributor LATEST ARTICLE DoE Fear After Fisker Fiasco Caused Death Of VPG, Ex-CEO Says The ex-CEO of a now-defunct automaker that received a federal loan said his company would still be... Read More N/A LEADERBOARD RANK ...
So the 2013 Leaf FINALLY caught up to the 2012 Ford Focus Electric in terms of a faster on-board 6.6-KwH charger. (Welcome to 4-hour charging, Leaf!) And I suspect it has passed the Ford in range performance. (On a good day, I can go over 80 real-world miles between charges of my Focu...
Like many European countries, Germany's electric vehicle has been somewhere in the low to disappointing range--though the choice of vehicles isn't as high as it is in countries like the U.S. Aside from the Smart Electric Drive, there also haven't been many production electric vehicles...
Musk answers in the affirmative, citing the current economic climate, but a few years down the line it's looking much better for Tesla than it has for companies that have failed and dragged taxpayer money down with them--Tesla expects to repay its loan in 2017 , five years ahead of sc...
It uses a 2.2-liter diesel Ford engine with a five-speed manual gearbox, and offers chunky tires and high ground clearance to help navigate the unpaved roads the OX will almost certainly encounter. It's designed to be cheap to fix too, when required--the flat panels, identical left an...
Here's our question: Since it's well known that Nissan is testing an all-electric version of the NV200 and plans to offer it for sale too within a few years, could Chevy end up selling an all-electric van as well?
Why should we be happy about a tax that burdens the few electric car owners in the state with the cost of an infrastructure that will benefit all electric car owners in the future. It make no sense. If electrification of the vehicle fleet is a priority, why is it done on the backs of ...
I doubt Tesla will take this route. The swap stations cost an absolute fortune to build and the density of the network needed wouldn't be any lower than that of the Superchargers that will need to be interspaced every 50 miles tops to offer drivers a safe and flexible driving experien...
Mr Li you clearly have no idea what you are talking about? What is your knowledge or commitment to electric cars? I am a Fisker Karma owner. The Karma has Aluminum space frame with double wishbone suspension and pulls more G (better cornering) than my wife's BMW 7 series. Regarding te...
There's one exception to the electric-cars-cost-more rule: the Tesla Model S. The $60-$100K price tag for a Model S (depending on battery size, performance level, and options) is virtually the same as comparable cars. The closest ICE-powered analog to the Model S is probably the Audi ...
With a claimed $6,800 price tag and an 84 mpg highway headline figure, the buzz surrounding the company isn't hard to understand. It seems to side-step the usual issue with personal transportation--it can be either economical, or it can be cheap, but it cannot do both to any great ext...
A couple of notes: Deliveries last December were less than 10--but January was Better Place's best-ever month. March deliveries were low because the Passover holiday cut the number of working days dramatically; most Israeli businesses experience the same slowdown.
Interesting article John. I think Tesla would be a nice fit for any of the 3 car manufacturers you mentioned. My thought was Toyota as the most likely of the 3, being they collaborated on the RAV 4 EV. Also, Tesla would merge very nicely into a sub-niche car sold at select Lexus deale...
The brakes on our test car, which had just 239 miles, felt considerably grabbier than other Leafs we've driven--though we quickly got used to their aggressive action The numeric battery-charge percentage gauge added to the middle of the instrument cluster eliminates the need to pay at...
